Yuri Kalugin
Yuri Kalugin is a ranking member of Imperial Intelligence. He is the Y'Toub System Director for the Bureau of Operations. He will do anything he can to get the information required, including the most inhumane forms of torture. Just ask those who have crossed him. History Parents Nikolai Kalugin was a proud man that evening on Sluis Van. His wife had just given birth to two twin sons, both beautiful, healthy boys. Oleg and Yuri were identical in almost every way, physically, except for Oleg's small facial mole. Growing up, however, the differences in personality were astounding. Early Years Yuri and Oleg grew up largely as twins do, best friends. They even had their own strange language at one point, although it was largely unnecessary. The two of them usually could finish one another's sentences, assuming they had to speak at all. Both were instilled with the kind of pride and honor only their father could teach them, instilling in them the values of complete loyalty. Adolescence Oleg was very outgoing. He was elected to his student council, dated all the women, he went to all of the parties. Yuri kept mostly to himself, watching the events around him. Yuri dated only two girls before attending a boarding school, while Oleg never really dated one girl for more than three consecutive dates. Yuri began to resent his twin's social differences, and especially how he associated with aliens. It was around this time that the Empire rose to power, eliminating little by little the remnants of the Old Republic. Oleg was disturbed by the Empire's 'oppressive' nature, especially given all the non-human friends he kept. Yuri, on the other hand, had found a new guiding light, some ideals he could believe in. Yuri joined the Imperial Academy almost immediately. While attending the Academy, majoring in intelligence analysis, Yuri realized that this was the place he would meet his friends. Oleg had always chided him for his introverted nature, but no more. In fact, it was Oleg, now, who had to be the introvert, hiding his associations with aliens. In a letter to his slightly older brother, Oleg confessed that he hated this new regime. Yuri had had it with him. He forwarded the letter to the commandant of the school, eager to show that he could make any sacrifice for the Emperor and his New Galactic Order. Oleg never wrote another letter to his brother. As far as Imperial records show, Oleg vanished in a hyperspace accident. The truth is he still lives, mining ore for the Empire's secret projects. Bitter and angry, his fingers wilt away as he digs and digs, never understanding the truth that his own twin betrayed him. Yuri was not concerned. Yuri Nikolayevich had a shiny new medal strapped to his uniform on graduation day, a day when many senior officials of the Empire were in attendance. Adulthood After graduation, Yuri was appointed to the Bureau of Operations, also known simply as "The Bureau". He was a good agent, and felled many a foe within the ranks. Over the years, he has been promoted to several positions of authority, leaving the undercover roles far behind. At his age, it is difficult for people not to recognize him as a snitch, so he is content at running operations behind the scenes and analyzing data. During the Imperial Civil War, Yuri stuck with the Loyalists. He had met Mara Jade before, and what little data he could gather on her showed her to be quite faithful to the Emperor. That alone was enough to convince the old Intel operative who was right, although it wasn't the only information he'd received to corroborate her story. Imperial Career Undercover Work First Operation thumb|left|Yuri undercover on [[starwars:Tatooine|Tatooine]] As a new Field Operative in 23 BBY, Yuri was tasked with uncovering a hidden cache of rebel weapons on Tatooine. The Tatoo System Director had received reports of shipments being sent there, and then going missing. After some research on the local culture, Kalugin bought a cheap suit and got a haircut that matched the various scum and villainy of the area. After two months of working in a local pawn shop, he became known as someone who could fence stolen goods. Shortly after, he was approached by an Abyssin who asked if he could perhaps handle larger shipments. Agreeing, Yuri found his way deep in the center of the local chapter of the growing rebel organization that would one day become the Rebel Alliance. It took some time before he gained the trust and confidence of the Hutt who was helping the rebel terrorists, but he soon had an audience with the vile slug. Taking all the information he had, he vanished, and two days later all the rebels involved were arrested or killed in a large Imperial raid. The Safehouse Many operations require housing and support for agents in the field. Having worked his way up to an agent, in 18 BBY Kalugin was now operating undercover on Nar Shaddaa. He had infiltrated a group of mercenaries who had been looking for contacts in the Rebellion. Once again, he was deep inside enemy territory. Unfortunately, these mercenaries had discovered that there was an agent in their midst, although they didn't yet know whom it was. Through various contacts and dealing, they discovered a safehouse near the Tech Plex, and devised a raid against it. Yuri was stuck because, if he was seen warning the agents who worked the house, he may be given away, but he wasn't far enough along in the operation to have the group rounded up and exterminated. Instead, he forged a note from the leader of the gang to one of the other mercenaries with an order to stake out the place from the inside. When the other mercenaries saw him walk inside, they fingered him for the mole. Meanwhile, inside, the agents of the safehouse knew they had been compromised. In the end, all the mercenaries were sent to the spice mines of Kessel, save the leader was executed summarily. The Empire was grateful, once again, for Yuri's undercover work, and a promotion was thus forthcoming. The Last Undercover Operation thumb|right|Yuri undercover again, this time appearing much older than he is even today. It was 13 BBY, and Yuri was now a case manager, which essentially meant he sat in the safehouse on Nar Shaddaa and organized briefings and reports. Largely, it was a bureaucratic job, and one he hated. He still had to remain inconspicuous, but he was more of a target and more in the open than usual. When his agent had gone missing, Yuri had no choice but to investigate. Donning a new disguise designed by the best makeover artist the Empire had to offer, Yuri set about infiltrating the underground gambling joint. He played a high-roller, using the Empire's technology to cheat without getting caught (which was no easy feat). After a few weeks, he was invited to the Master's suite, where he met the head of the casino, Machi Haupo. Machi was a human who had grown up as a homeless boy in rags and gambled his way to the top. He favorite past time was torturing snitches, and chained to his wall, bloodied and beaten, was Yuri's agent. Machi told Yuri it was time to find a new toy and, pulling out a long, slender blade, made his way to the agent, prepared to kill him. In mot cases, Yuri would have shrugged it off, but as luck would have it, the agent was the son of some Grand Moff, and political pressure dictated action. Yuri strangled the gambler with his own two hands, and then fought off the security detail with a hold-out blaster. Yuri's cover had been blown, and his days of undercover work were over. However, rescuing the son of a Moff had its benefits, and the Case Manager was moved up to a position he could really enjoy - cryptanalysis. Cryptanalysis Securing Transmissions Yuri had studied cryptology at the academy, it had always been his forte. He was excited to be doing something he loved, and helping the Empire at the same time. Largely, his job boiled down to finding the best routines for encryption, and then seeing how long it would take to break them. The man was good at it, too. Over the years, he had succeeded at encrypting communications to the point that it took even him days or weeks to break the code. It was tedious, and very math heavy, but it was worth it. From time to time, he'd get to do other work, as well. For instance, he was called upon to decrypt some hidden files on a terrorist's datapad. After finding the files, the director allowed him to interrogate the man. It was exciting, all that power. It was something he always looked forward to, and would try to sit in on as many as he could. Breaking the Rebel Codes After the Alliance had formed in 2 BBY, Yuri was transferred to interceptions, where he worked to find rebel transmissions and break them. His efforts led to many arrests and deaths, which pleased him greatly. Again, he got to sit in on many more interrogations, and after a time, he was moved away from cryptanalysis back to operations, where he began to oversee several other agents. Overseeing Y'Toub Nal Hutta The most boring job Yuri can ever remember was as the Planetary Director of Nal Hutta. There was not much there except for Hutts, and although they were all crooked, they were also all in bed with the Empire. This was a stagnant job - there was very little to oversee. Agents couldn't pretend to be Hutts and infiltrate, but they couldn't very well walk out in the open, either. The occasional operation would shut down some supply lines to the Alliance, but it was largely a dull task. He was approaching retirement age, and even had a decent nest egg ready for it. He was pondering going into politics, perhaps as a planetary governor. It wasn't until the rebellion was destroyed and the civil war broke out that Yuri would find himself in a decent position again. Nar Shaddaa With the Imperial Civil War, the Planetary Director of Nar Shaddaa fled and sided with the Skywalker Empire. Yuri, always devoutly loyal to Palpatine, had trusted Mara Jade. He knew her, at least through various internal contacts, and trusted her more than the Skywalkers. Furthermore, he had recognized an oppurtunity. The position on Nar Shaddaa needed to be filled, as it was more important than Nal Hutta. And here was Yuri, already familiar with the planet from his undercover days, already in the system, and already connected to the Hutts. Mara Jade signed the order to give him control herself. System Director After peace was restored to the Galaxy once more, positions opened up more coreward. Ambitious but patient, Yuri let his superiors take the more choice spots, opening up several opportunities for him. Grateful, he was given his pick, and decided to become the Y'Toub System Director, which is where he is currently stationed. Skills Yuri excels at cryptanalysis and other data gathering. In the early days, he had done quite a bit of undercover work, but those days are largely gone, now. He's happier that way. He is also a decent interrogator, although most who can personally testify to this don't seem to talk about it - or simply can't, because the dead do not speak. Still, those within the intelligence community know his work well, and have often requested him to assist in their own investigations.